Aejir "Cameo" Nightclaw
A reot who was raised in a large family, mostly ignored by his siblings and peers. He became a merchant selling weapons on the black market in the midst of the galactic arms-race, hoping to earn a huge profit to impress his father and finally earn his approval. Though he's got a knack for thievery and taking it easy, he doesn't live a frivilous lifestyle. He's honest and seeks a steady and growing profit, meaning he always has to be on his toes and quick-witted to stay on top of things. He bypasses violence with his wits in most situations, though he's been known to pull the godslayer Eiorozziore on a foe a time or two. History Cameo was born as the youngest among a clammor of brothers, most with different mothers. His father, a notorious playboy in the deserts of Beyne, quickly put all of his sons to work in his mercantile business, whose influence stretches across the galaxy. Rather than selling some sort of specialty ware or service for his father as his brothers do, however, Cameo used his quick hands and quiet nature to his benefit: he would steal weapons from military officials and resell them to those same military personnel for an inflated cost on the black market and pocket the coin for himself. After all, the galaxy is in the midst of an arms-race, and he never liked his dad much anyway. Cameo found himself wrapped up in the struggles on Mioura, which would eventually lead to the events of the Fall of the Ealdremen Galaxy, while on a run to check out the military's equipment in the area. The First Dream of Arplakoon Cameo found little of interest on Mioura; he rested there for several days, quietly observing the guards, and eventually went on his way. He would end up in the city of Fol Atzo for a short vacation, but rumors of the gang war in Nicta growing increasingly more volatile would lead him to do a little bit of investigating. While sleuthing the headquarters of the Vacaddis, he learns that they managed to steal a sword of unspeakable power from the Alamo Empire. Cameo finds the blade, Eiorozziore, and takes it, discovering (albeit ignorant to its words) that he has godsblood. He does not go far; Hretlakk Flametail of the Alamo Empire intercepts him as he attempts to hawk the sword, educating him vaguely of its importance and handily defeating him in a short skirmish brought about by his refusal to relinquish the blade. Impressed by his arrogance, and his ability to wield the sword, Flametail gives him an ultimatum: Keep the sword and join the Empire, or perish under the blade of her axe. He surrenders the sword, but still accepts her offer to join the military under the condition that his crimes be expunged. She obliges, and he is recruited to serve under Endur Sigvarkk. He grows close with Hretlakk Flametail during this time, eventually learning the truth of the godslayers and essentially becoming her hand prior to the revival of Derrin Stormwing IX. He trains briefly with the sword that would lead him here, but gets frustrated when the blade refuses to speak to him again and returns it to Flametail. Upon learning of his skills in intel, the emperor would grant him leave to become a spy for the empire. Cameo's first mission was to learn the location of Aricrauer Velkt , wielder of Feivelkt. He fails this mission and returns to a simple life as a solider, slowly promoting through the ranks with the looming threat of war hanging over his shoulders. He captains a small squad of soldiers through a battle in Streeg at the beginning of the Fourth Galactic War and is injured on the field. Unable to fight, he returns to his position as Hretlakk's hand and travels with her from battle to battle as a tactician, using his intel and knowledge of the battlefields from his time as a merchant to bring the Empire several victories against the Veriol Alliance. On the eve of the bout, he spends one last dinner with Hretlakk and offers to take Eiorozziore as the Empire's second champion. She forbids him to enter the battlefield due to his inexperience with the blade, and he leaves her in a fit of rage. He fails to show up at his post the following morning, where he was to escort Captain Flametail to the battlefield, and instead returns to his home of Beyne to spend what he expected to be his final days with his brother. There, he finds a nameless girl of about five years old who claims to be orphaned and living on the streets, having been alone since what she presumes to be her birth. Taking pity on her, he takes her in and names her Bjori, after his mother. The two live a quiet life, even after the fall of the galaxy, and manage to outrun Rotus and his stone army for many, many years before finally being slain by them the night of Bjori's tenth anniversary with her father. Campaigns Mioura: The Forgotten Past When Cameo arrived in Mioura, he ran into an Iddun named Ddremmu, who he agreed to venture with to the a graveyard to investigate for the town guards. Along the way, Cameo and Ddremmu were stopped by Thorn and given the task of finding and eliminating an evil queen from ancient Mioura, Dokani. The two relucantly agreed, but went back to the town to rest before setting out. While at the local inn the pair met with a ragtag group of men and women who would eventually be known as the Time Weavers. They banded together and headed for Dokani Castle; they were met with trouble along the way, however, when they were attacked by a group of stone beasts known as Colossi while camping out for the night. During the skirmish Thorn was killed by Dokani, and the group was thrown into the dungeons of Dokani Castle by Dokani herself, but Cameo and Isaak were easily able to break everyone free from their cells. After some exploring, the group found themselves stumbling through a time portal to Ancient Mioura, where they met the Colossi when they were still living. They came to learn that to become a colossus a protogod must first die, and then be resurrected through a ritual that Dokani was attempting to perform in order to raise an army of colossi in order to start an uprising against her brother, King Deioros, who'd had her and her husband murdered some years prior. Along the way they met with Ainori, the undead heir, and Fanred, her doppelganger. They would come to tell the group that Fanred was acting as Ainori in order to fool those who thought she was still alive, and after a brief exchange they were told that a young man named Thorn was being kept in the very same dungeons they'd previously been kept in. Cameo, Doji, Isaak, and Ddremmu paid him a visit, with Fanred distracting the guards above. With the intention of breaking Thorn free, Cameo fruitlessly attempted to pick the cell's lock. Doji eventually blew the lock away with a bomb, freeing the young protogod, who was much less cooperative than his present-day self. Throughout the rest of Mioura the group was chased by Throntuk, who would be defeated by Ainori only to have his possesions stolen by the party, betrayed by Thorn, and learn the real truth of Dokani's uprising. Cameo, feeling guilt for getting Thorn killed in the present-day, attempted to keep him safe for the duration of their expedition, but Thorn would perish twice: Once by a vial of poison kept beneath his cloak (broken by an attacking guard), and once at the ritual when he succummed to the effects of the poison. Prior to that, however, Cameo had a hand in convincing Ainori to perform the ritual in the absence of Dokani's daughter, Felaji, whom Isaak had killed shortly before. With a newfound resolve, Ainori traveled to the alter and began the ritual to turn all living protogods into what would become modern day Kylians, and all deceased protogods into colossi. Among the crowd, Cameo spotted Thorn transforming into a wolf-life colossus, and he charged to meet the boy. He begged for death, and Cameo obliged. Following the third and final death of his new friend, Cameo returned to the alter to finish the job. He, Isaak, and Oscare, with some help from their protogod allies, defeated Dokani and brought peace to Mioura. Before departing, however, Cameo retrieved one last gift... the mask of his fallen friend, Thorn. Nicta: The Corruption Deepens Upon arriving in Fol Atzo, Cameo encountered a man being accosted by two thugs simply for his race. He attempted to break up the scuffle to no avail; the man was dragged off to a prison somewhere in the city. Along with a mysterious colossus named Rokordi, Cameo set off to save the man, known as Ezwell. Upon arriving at the prison the pair was attacked by a man known as Boss Madrante, the leader of a powerful gang within the city. He would be defeated, but shot himself in the head to pin the murder on a rival gang, the Vacaddis. His daughter, Strisci , would break Ezwell from his cell and force Cameo and Rokordi along with them into hiding. Once again guilt-ridden, this time for murdering Strisci's father, Cameo intends to make it up to her by ensuring her safety until the mess is cleared. In the chaos, however, the Vacaddis move in. The group infiltrates their base to learn more from the inside, but is easily found out by their boss, whom they would later learn was Strisci's mother Fiore. Fiore sends the group on a mission to infiltrate the Madrante prison, whereupon they discover that the Madrante gang had been trafficking the people of Fol Atzo into slavery. Enraged, Cameo leaves to confront Strisci, but upon returning to the Vacaddi base they discover that she had attacked Boss Vacaddi and disappeared. Cameo and Ezwell, determined to save her, scour the city for the noctra, only to find her in a sewer beneath the city, crouching next to a powerful weapon: The Godbreaker, Eiorozziore. Cameo, curious, picks it up and hears a voice. He takes the blade and escapes up a hatch in the sewer with the rest of the group, but is halted by Hretlakk Flametail. After some negotiation, Flametail agrees to take Cameo up as her apprentice and he is recruited into the Alamo military as a spy in exchange for being allowed to keep Eiorozziore. Interim: The Empire's Pawn Cameo spends his final eve in Fol Atzo training with Hretlakk Flametail. She teaches him very little of what his blade can do, but is sure to teach him the blade's power: A shield of chrono that absorbs damage. He is stunned, but the two discuss each other, the godslayers, and the empire, before training there in the hotel room. It is a short skirmish, but Hretlakk ensures that Cameo learns the basics of his new weapon before they call it a night. Interim: The Gods' Children Hretlakk again visits Cameo, this time in his room in Streeg, to inform him of the death of Strisci Madrante. While she's there, she also inquires about his knowledge of Rackina, Rhyser City in particular. Cameo offers little more than grade-school knowledge of the area in response, and Hretlakk educates him more on its history before telling him of the bombing of Rhyser City. Horrified, he attempts to seek humanity in his captain, but is given little in return. He gauges from this conversation that she is far from a normal woman, but refuses to pass judgment. Her life is, and always has been, the military. Death and destruction were normal for her. He does, however, begin to doubt the Empire and its mission for equality upon hearing this news. He uses his doubt, however, to inquire about the godslayers, which he assumed based on his first conversation with Captain Flametail would at least be part of what his work with her would entail. She informs him of Aricrauer Velkt's apparent survival, and gives him his first official mission: Find her, and bring her to him. He starts his search in Stachtdruckelle, a small city in Kyrol, and also the home of the Velkt siblings. He encounters a young man by the name of Finn upon his arrival, and the boy turns out to be an important asset in locating Aricrauer. Finn was the boyfriend of Lexa Velkt, Aricrauer's sister, and Cameo used this connection to schedule a meeting with the siblings, sans the youngest, Gwyna. He has a heated conversation with them which eventually leads to an attack on him by Lexa before eventually convincing her that he is trying to help, and she returns his attempts to maintain peace with them despite her assault on him with information on Aricrauer's whereabouts. With this information, he leaves Kyrol and makes for Tumoria to find the eldest Velkt sister, but not before Finn can give him a gift: A Stradaum seed. Tumoria: The Emerald Meteors Streeg: The Final Eclipse Alti Maru: The Last Stand Image Gallery (Cameo Shrine) Cameo.png|Cameo by riley Cameoheadshot.png|Cameo by Dess Cameorileynew.png|Cameo by riley Tumblr nh31jxb6rs1rogt4io1 1280.png|Cameo by Dess Category:Characters Category:Ealdremen Player Characters Category:Second Dream